A Journey Begins
by KorvasTerindar
Summary: In a small town in the Hoenn region, a sickly teenager risks life and limb to save a Pokemon that is being attack by abusive trainers. This turns out to be the first step of a much greater adventure. Future OC/Pokemon romance.
1. Chapter 1

_**Well, here I am in Pokemon now, tell me what you think and review.**_

Chapter 1

The morning sun shone brightly upon the forested landscape of the Hoenn region, its light bringing upon its inhabitants a new day with which to live, a new day to enjoy, new experiences to enrich life. All these things the people of Hoenn enjoy, day by day, however, this was not true of Nicolas, a young man who lived in a little known town. He could not see the sun, nor feel its warmth, he knew what time of day it was but he was unable to see the sun. This was because Nicolas sat in a small, comfortable room, staring at the door, waiting for his caretaker to come get him. He was a thin boy, with black hair that reached his shoulders, clashing quite well with the white shirt that he wore. His arms were thin, with little muscle to them and this was true of his legs as well, which were just visible beneath the blanket he wore draped over his knees. It was hard to believe that this emaciated and frail boy was only 16. He waited and waited, growing impatient with every passing moment wanting his caretaker to show up and take him outside. Were he able, he'd have walked out the door himself, but as it was, the wheelchair in which he sat clearly spoke of his limited ability.

He had been born sickly, had grown up being cared for and nurtured to the greatest of extremes but his health had only marginally improved. His parents had allowed for him to have one outing a day since they had moved to this small town, and this was why he sat in his chair waiting, because this was the time in which he would be taken outside to the world. Finally, after what seemed like years, the door handle turned and a thin, gray haired woman came in through the door, a smile playing across her face as she said, "Good Morning Master Nicolas, did you sleep well?"

Nicolas frowned a little and said in a weak voice, "Well enough, but I've been waiting for you, I want to go outside."  
The woman frowned and apologized for her lateness moving around behind the wheelchair and pushing it towards the door. Just being able to leave his room was an adventure for Nicolas, seeing the new things in the house, possibly meeting new people in the form of his father's business contacts, but more than that, he was able to see the sun through the many windows in the front of the house. As its light fell upon him he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, soaking in the warmth in the same way a flower would.

He looked up at his caretaker, who smiled at him with a twinkle in her eyes as she steered him out through the door and into the cool, clean air beyond. The revitalizing feeling he felt upon inhaling the fragrance of the mountain air made him feel as though he could leap from his chair and run for miles, his muscles tingling with excitement at the idea of being used more than they usually were. As they made their way down the hill on which his house sat, his caretaker spoke to him as she usually did, sharing with him her day and the many things that had been happening in the world, going on and on in the usual way until they reached the road at which point she asked, "Okay Sir, where to today?"

Nicolas looked around at the small town, at all the little houses and shop's he'd been to before, his mind thinking to the friendly inhabitants and the nice things they do for him. He continued to look around the town until his eyes fell on the forest entrance towards the edge of town and a smile split his lips. He had very rarely entered into the forest, mostly due to his parents stringent feelings on how dangerous they found it for him. He would love to go on a walk through the forest again, to see the Pokemon wander through the tree's and across the road. He'd only been allowed into the woods when his caretaker was a skilled Pokemon trainer.  
He raised his arm and pointed towards the forest entrance and his caretaker nodded briefly before steering the wheelchair down the road towards the forest, humming softly as she walked. As the reached the forests edge, a palpable sense of excitement welled up in Nicolas as the tree's enveloped him, the chattering of birds and the gentle blowing of the wind the only sounds that broke the otherwise still morning. Nicolas took long, deep breaths as the moved through the trees, trying to see if he could spot Pokemon through the trees. There weren't very many that he saw, the occasional Rattata and Sentret wandering through the brush, and not much else.

It disheartened him slightly to not see as many Pokemon, but he reasoned he would see more sooner or later. He looked up at his caretaker and asked,  
"Why are there so few Pokemon in the forest today?"

The old woman shook her head, her sharp gaze scanning the trees around them, searching for any sign of the missing inhabitants of the woods. It was far to quite for a noon day in these woods. She had walked them many times before and always there had been some form of Pokemon calls heard from within the trees, but now, only the winds and rustling leaves offered any sound at all. She reached down under her shirt to her trainer belt and pulled a black and yellow Pokeball, she tossed it and called forth her companion, a Glaceon. She looked at the Pokemon and said, "Keep your ears open, things are far too quite."

The Glaceon nodded and padded along side them as the continued through the trees, Nicolas finding it difficult to not keep watching the Glaceon, it being the first one he'd ever seen. He wanted to pet it, but felt that now wasn't the time, with but it and his caretaker being so tense. He didn't understand what they were so afraid of, it just seemed that the Pokemon weren't around today. He didn't pay any mind to it until his wheelchair stopped suddenly, forcing him to have to look up at his caretaker to see what was wrong. Her eyes were narrowed and fixed upon a single section of trees, a slight snarl curling her lips, making her look far less like the kind woman she usually did. She motioned for Glaceon to stand close by and slowly made her way towards the trees. Nicolas now was beginning to feel worried, a feeling amplified by the strange sounds that began to reach his ears the closer they got to the tree line. As they neared,strange, high pitched cries could be heard, interrupted by shouts and yells.

He thought at first that perhaps there was an actual Pokemon battle happening in the trees; the thought of which made him tingle with excitement. However, once they reached the trees, the sight they beheld was far different. Less than ten feet away was a small group of men, who were clustered in a small clearing, kicking and swinging at a small white skinned and green haired Pokemon, which they knocked around with laughs and whoops of pleasure, the high pitched screams of the Pokemon the source of the noise. Nicholas felt sickened by what he saw and reached for his caretaker, but she had gone. She and Glaceon wear moving through the tree's creeping towards the group in an attempt to surprise them. They got less than half the distance when an overly large Flareon charged from a bush and tackled the Glaceon large a ball of fire, knocking the Glaceon flying sideways into a tree, where it slid to the ground unconscious. Nicholas' caretaker's eyes went wide and she made a dash for the fallen Pokemon, scooping it up into her arms and sprinting from the trees with it, narrowly avoid a jet of flame from the fire Pokemon.

She exited the trees feet from him and began running back to the town, with the jeering of the bullies following after her. Nicolas felt afraid now, he was left alone in the middle of a forest with hostile and cruel humans mere feet from him, with no means of defending himself. He trembled slightly and looked back through the trees at the small Pokemon that the trainers beat. It was so frail and helpless, much like he was, its body falling to the ground repeatedly from the blows of the trainers. Every so often, they would allow it to crawl or run for the clearing, only to have the Flareon, or another hidden Pokemon knock it backwards into the group, where the abuse would start up again.

Nicolas knew that these trainers intended to kill this defenseless Pokemon, and this more than anything else sickened him. He wished he had a Pokemon with which to fight these monsters, but all he had was himself. He looked at the Pokemon once more as he struggled with indecisiveness, but as it hit the ground again, he could see its eyes as its hair came up, bright green and streaming with tears. Nicolas felt a strong surge of energy as a mixture of pity and hatred fueled him, his feet sliding to the dirt road beneath him. He pushed on the arms of the chair with as much strength as his weakened frame would allow, trying his hardest to stand on his own feet, the sensation of soft earth under his feet giving him an adrenaline surge at the prospect of what he was doing. Unsurprisingly to him, his legs shook uncontrollably as he put weight upon his feet, but he didn't get much further than that as his wheelchair shot out from behind him as he lifted himself up, causing him to fall painfully to the ground as it rolled away.

He growled and coughed painfully, fighting back tears as he clawed his way across the soft earth, pulling himself along as best he could, using his weak legs to try to help the process. As he entered into the trees, he could see the shaking Pokemon, that the trainers were applying medicine to, obviously trying to delay its death as long as possible. Anger welled up inside him as the nearest trainer took a kick at it as soon as the medicine had taken effect, a fresh scream filling the clearing as he did so. Nicolas gritted his teeth and fought his coughing, pulling himself along as best he could, determined to help the Pokemon. After a minute or two, he felt a large heavy paw settle itself on his back, causing him to turn its head to see the Flareon that had attacked his caretaker earlier. The Flareon eyed him imperiously for a moment, leaning in to sniff him gently.

After a moment it obviously decided he was no threat as the Pokemon snorted at him and walked away. Nicolas sighed in relief and continued his laborious crawl towards the clearing, taking another minute or so before he reached the edge. He saw the Pokemon fall to the ground once again, except this time it did not get up, instead, laying there, curled up in a ball staring blankly at the trees through which he crawled, its ragged breathing the only sign of continued life. The trainers began to mock the weakened and dying Pokemon, no longer bothering to attack it any more. Nicolas pulled himself to his knees and looked over to the Pokemon, his eyes looking with its, registering nothing but fear in them, fear of what was to come. With another surge of strength, likely to be his last he crawled over towards the group as the leader said, "Alright, I guess its time we put you to sleep now."

He raised his foot to stomp down upon the Pokemon, a sick twisted smile upon his face as he did so. In that instant, time seemed to crawl to a halt. Nicholas forced his weak body to lunge through the small gap that only his body could fit through, his arms wrapping around the small Pokemon as he shielded it from the attack with his own body. Searing pain filled him as the foot made contact with his back, causing him to arch in agony as he experienced pain like he had never felt before. The trainers all looked in bewildered alarm at the new addition to their murder group and in an instant, they all began recalling their Pokemon before making a dash for the trees. In a matter of moments, they were gone, leaving Nicholas and the frail Pokemon alone in the clearing. He could taste blood in his mouth, but he didn't care, all that mattered was ensuing that this small Pokemon was alright, he shifted slightly and shook it gently, the soft skin of the Pokemon strange to him as he did so. It slowly looked up at him, a tinge of fear in its eyes as it focused on him. He tried to make some sort of sound of comfort to it, tried even to simply smile, but the pain in his back peaked as he moved and slumped against the ground, unable to move anymore. He slowly wrapped his arms around it and pulled it close to him, before closing his eyes and passing out.

Nicholas slowly awoke after what seemed like only minutes, finding himself in a small hospital room, with an IV in his arm, the pain in his back much milder than it had been. He looked slowly around and spotted his mother asleep in the chair next to him. He tried to croak out her name but found he was too weak even for that. It was now that he became aware of the strong burning sensation in every muscle in his body, likely due to the exertion he had put himself through in crawling towards that weakened Pokemon.

He remembered the events of earlier and this more than anything made him call out to his mother, who jerked awake as though she had just been electrocuted. She smiled and got up moving over to him and asking, "How's my little boy, is he feeling alright?"

Nicolas nodded and said weakly, "Yes mother, I'm fine, just a little thirsty. I need to ask you about the Pokemon I saved."

His mother froze in the process of grabbing a cup full of water and asked, "You saved? What do you mean by that?"

Nicholas sighed and explained to his mother how he and his caretaker had come across a group of trainers who were abusing another Pokemon, the one they'd found him with. He explained how his caretaker had tried to put a stop to it, but had instead been ambushed and defeated by the trainers Pokemon and been forced to retreat. He finally culminated in how he had forced himself out of his wheelchair and crawled to the defense of the Pokemon. His mother sat there listening to him as he gave his story and finally sighed after he completed it saying, "Nicholas, do you have any idea how dangerous what you did was? You should have just waited there until she came back with help."

Nicholas shook his head, but before he could protest the matter she said, "Your life is more important to me than any Pokemon, you understand me? Don't you ever do something so foolish again."

Nicholas wanted to protest, but under the stern gaze of his mother, he could only nod. Eventually he asked, "What became of the Pokemon I rescued?"

His mother frowned and gave him a drink of water before she said, "When we found you, it had passed out next to you, very badly hurt. We used some medicine to stabilize it some more before we had it transferred to the Pokecenter for emergency treatment. I suspect it should be fine. After its done been treated, it'll be released back into the wild."

Nicholas sighed in relief and settled into his bed, happy that the Pokemon was going to be alright. He looked back at his mother and asked, "How long do you think I'll have to stay here?"

His mother raised an eye brow and said, "A day or two, you were fortunate that the blow you received didn't do anything more than some tissue damage. We'll take you home after you've had time to recover a bit more."

Nicholas sighed and closed his eyes, wishing that he could see that poor Pokemon again, but he doubted he would. After being released to the wild, it would likely disappear into the woods and avoid human contact for the rest of its life, and he couldn't blame it. After all the pain It went through at the hands of humans, why would it want to be around them any more. After another moment or two he heard his mother clear her throat and say, "I'll let you get some rest, I'll stop by later with your father. Sleep well." With that, she rose from her chair and kissed him on the forehead before turning and leaving through the door. Leaving him very much alone. With a heavy sigh he settled back into his bed, closing his eyes and was asleep within minutes.

**_What did you think? Tell me your thoughts. Next chapter to come._**


	2. Chapter 2

_**A.N.: In case its unclear, the Pokemon that our hero rescued was a Ralts. I give it a good physical description, which includes the revealing of its gender, which includes the mentioning of its gential's. In layman's terms, I mention her private parts. As this is a teen story, I don't expect many people to be offended, but just in case, you have been forewarned. That Being said, Please enjoy and review, I love hearing from you all.**_

Chapter 2

A full day had passed since Nicolas had been moved to the hospital after his attempt at saving the life of that lone Pokemon. Since then, he had been visited several times by his mother, father and once by his caretaker, who had said that she had very nearly lost her job as a result of the incident, but had been able to negotiate her staying on with the family. She had confessed to being surprised but proud of what he had done to protect the Pokemon. Her praise had made him glow, mostly due to the fact that he was usually scorned for any kind of physical exertion.

Despite this however, Nicolas had tried to slide out of the bed to see if he could stand. This proved to be dangerous, as his legs wouldn't support him and his ribs still hurt from the day before. It had taken a lot of effort to pull himself back into the bed without hitting the floor. He sighed as he settled back into the mattress, staring up into the ceiling. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't stop thinking about the Pokemon he had rescued. He felt like he was responsible for the Pokemon, all most as if it belonged to him. This was of course not the case, as he had only helped it, but that didn't change how he felt. He wanted to see it again, he wanted to play with it and take care of it, just like most boys 6 years younger than him did.

He had been denied a Pokemon friend for all of his life, his parents siting how dangerous they were and how they could hurt or even kill him. From what he had seen, this was true, but Pokemon were supposed to be very loyal companions, he had a hard time imagining one of them attacking him if he took care of it. He sighed and shook his head, closing his eyes at the same time. Despite all his attempts over the years to convince his parents to let him have one, it had never worked, in fact, he had been forbidden from ever touching one by his parents. They were so concerned with his health, afraid of everything he came in contact with. When he had been born, the doctors had given him a minimal chance of survival past the age of two. He had been born with a very rare disorder that known only to doctors as _vitae fragilem_, or the frail life disease.

In a nut shell, his body was extremely frail, weakened immune system, weaker bone structure, weak muscles, and generally frail in almost every conceivable way. He had been confined to a bed for most of his life, leaving it for the bathroom or to go outside on occasion, and always with help. For the most part, he didn't mind, as this was the only life he knew, but ever since he had turned ten, and watched young kids leaving town by the dozens to go on their own Pokemon journey, he had been left wanting something more out of his life, and he felt as though he had gotten a small taste of it the other day. Forcing his body to do what he had thought impossible had filled him with such a powerful surge of adrenaline, that he still got giddy every time he thought about it. Smiling he let out another sigh of contentment and sank into the bed, drifting slowly off to sleep.

It felt like hours later when he finally stirred again, his eyes cracking open slightly to an different sight than when he had gone to sleep; his own room. Looking around, he realized that he had indeed been brought home as he had slept. It surprised him slightly that he had been able to sleep through that, but as he looked out the window, he realized that it was still dark, which confused him. He reached over to his night stand, wincing slightly at his still tender back, turning his digital calender to see the date. To his even greater surprise, he had been asleep for over a full day, which would certainly explain why he was home and how he had been unaware of the move. He shrugged a little and settled back into his bed, thinking about what to do to pass the time.

He had books, all of which he had read, he had games, all of which he played, pretty much the only things he had available to do to pass time was to either go back to sleep or stare at the ceiling and think for the next few hours, which is what he usually did, at least until he got bored. He rubbed his eyes gently and began to think back to the days prior, reliving the events over and over in his mind, reveling in the remembered sensation of the dirt beneath his feet and the various plants of the forest as he had crawled through them. He wanted to do that again, crawl through the dirt, but he had a feeling that his parents had, or were likely to, tighten the grip they had on what he was allowed to do after that day. They'd do anything to keep him safe, short of killing someone but occasionally it seemed like they'd even be willing to do that.

He heaved another heavy sigh and closed his eyes, wishing that he could just go back to sleep until morning came around, when others would be awake that he could talk to and so he could get something to eat. Trying to ignore the now ravenous growling in his stomach, he rolled over and stared at his clock, watching the seconds tick by slowly, resigning himself to just stare at the clock until sheer boredom rendered him unconscious. It was then that Nicolas heard a soft sound coming from outside his room. He would have thought that it was his mother, if it had not been for the fact that it came from outside his window. He lifted his head slightly and listened for the sound, wondering if he had simply imagined it, but sure enough, it came again, like a soft rustling. Nicolas continued to lay there unmoving until a set of soft tappings came from the window.

Unable to deny the sounds any more, he rolled over and looked out the window and felt his heart leap. There on the windowsill was the small white skinned Pokemon with green hair that he had risked his life to save. It sat there with it thin arms raised and pressed against the glass, its green eyes starring in at him. He couldn't help but smile at the Pokemon, wishing that he could let it in. He looked down at the floor and scooted over to the edge, moving his legs over the side and preparing himself to stand. He heard a soft squeak which made him look up at the Pokemon, its eyes fearful as they starred at him. Nicolas didn't know if it was because he was moving to come near it, or if it was because it knew how frail he was, either way, he was determined to open the window for it. He gently lowered himself onto the floor, as before, his legs shook violently as they attempted to support him, something they had never done before. With an effort of will, he pushed himself up off the bed and onto his feet and almost fell face first onto the floor, catching himself on the wheelchair pressed against the wall. After a moment or so he stood up and hobbled over to the window, his steps slow and deliberate.

He had a suspicion that he would not be able to make it back however, and this was emphasized when his legs gave out and he caught himself on the windowsill. He looked up at the small Pokemon, smiling, and reached up to unlock the window, sliding the latch out of the way and pulling the window open. Before he could do much more he lost his grip on windowsill and slid to the floor, leaning face first against the wall. He chuckled weakly and just lay there for a moment, gathering his strength. As he lay there, he felt a small pair of arms touch his arm, causing him to look sideways at the small white Pokemon, a smile playing across his face at it. He forced himself to role over and lean against the wall, the Pokemon backing away from him as he did so. It didn't take a genius to realize that the Pokemon was concerned about him and that made him smile even more. After settling against the wall, he felt the Pokemon touch his arm again, a look of concern in its eyes as it stared at him. He rubbed its head gently and said, "Its alright, I was born sick, its something I have to deal with."

The Pokemon smiled at the affection and moved beside him, rubbing its head against his side. Nicolas was curious about what kinda of Pokemon this was, and what gender it was, but for the moment, he was just happy that it had returned to him, just as he'd hoped it would. He closed his eyes gently and leaned his head against the wall, gently petting the Pokemon's head as he sat there, his fingers tracing around the red horn like protrusions on the top of its head. He marveled at the sensation of touching this Pokemon, something he had been denied for all the years of his life. Even though most all of his caretakers had been previous Pokemon trainers and all had a companion of their own, as part of their contracts, they were forbidden to allow him to touch their Pokemon at all. It gave him a measure of satisfaction to be able to pet this small Pokemon without his parents knowing, it was kinda like he was rebelling against their rules in his own way.

He marveled at how soft this Pokemon's skin was, sort of like satin or velvet. Its hair was also quite soft and he admitted, fun to mess with, which he did so as he twirled a lock of its hair around one of his fingers idly for the fifth time. It didn't take him long before he realized that he was actually examining this small Pokemon instead of just petting it, his hand running down its sides and front in long slow movements. Despite it having the appearance of wearing a small gown, it didn't take him long to realize that the clothing had the same texture as the skin of its face, which led him to conclude that the "gown" was actually part of its body. What was curious is that he could shift this part of its body in the same way he would his own shirt, making it as easy to put wrinkles in the skin as it was with any fabric. After another minute of examining its skin he decided to chance trying to lift it to see what was underneath. He looked at the small Pokemon and asked it point blank if it minded him doing so. The only response it gave was a quizzical cock of its head as it watched him curiously, making him wonder if it understood him at all.

Deciding that perhaps it hadn't he reached down and gently grabbed a small section of its dress and lifted it gently. As he had thought, though the dress was a part of its body, it did seem to be a separate entity to its main body, which he could just see the feet of in the second he had it lifted before the Pokemon back stepped away from him, a look of confused discomfort on its face. He frowned, convinced that it hadn't understood his request from earlier and apologized for the invasion of its privacy. He shook his head and said,

"I was just curious to see if your dress was indeed part of your body, I've never seen a Pokemon like you before."

He sighed and looked up at the windowsill for a way to lift himself up when he felt the small Pokemon's arms touch his waist. He looked down to see the Pokemon trying to lift his shirt up, in much the same way he had its skirt, which made him giggle slightly as its soft arms tickled his stomach. He helped it a little by pulling the fabric up for it, allow it to see his thin belly, which it playfully explored, causing him to laugh softly as it tickled him in its curiosity. It seemed particularly interested in his belly button of all things, poking at it curiously with what he could only assume was its hand, in an attempt to understand what it was. Chuckling slightly he gave an explanation of what a belly button was to the Pokemon, still not entirely sure it would even remotely grasp the words leaving his mouth. To his surprise however, it seemed to absorb this information like a sponge, listening through his explanation before putting a hand upon its own belly tilting its head softly, as if wondering if it had one as well.

He wondered just how intelligent this Pokemon was. He had heard stories from his various caretakers over the years that there were Pokemon whose intellect could equal or surpass people and even some who had mastered the human language. It would definitely make conversing with this Pokemon easier if it could talk back, but he resigned himself to treating it as though it couldn't, instead of getting his hopes up. He continued to stare at it for a moment or two before wondering aloud, "Are you a boy or a girl? I'd like to name you but its hard to do when I don't know your gender."

The Pokemon stared at him curiously, as if he should already know this most basic fact. He didn't do much more beyond starring quizzically back at it. Eventually however, the Pokemon seemed to act on his question, which seemed to confirm to him its intellect. It reached down to its feet and grabbed the bottom of its skirt like attachment and lifted it up, revealing to him exactly what was underneath it all. Under the dress was a very thin body, whose proportions were completely alien to him. Under the dress its skin was a dark green color, which confused him as he had thought it would be the same as the rest of its body. Its feet were small round circles with no definable toes at all, and yet it seemed perfectly balanced upon them. Its legs were thin and ran up to its belly and torso, which were very near each other, due to its small size.

The Pokemon could lift this fold of skin up to its neck, but no higher, as this seemed to be where it was attached. But the feature that drew his attention the most was when it cautiously spread its legs apart so that he could see what was between them. It surprised him to see the small slit of a vagina there, clearly indicating that this Pokemon was female. He hadn't known that Pokemon possessed organs similar in nature to humans, in fact, for the most part, the nature of how they reproduced had been a complete mystery to him. This was as much interesting as it was embarrassing, as he couldn't help but feel that he shouldn't be seeing this regardless of the species. He gently lowered her dress back down, a soft smile on his lips as well as a slight blush on his cheeks.

He saw that she also was blushing at what had just happened. He reasoned however that it was his own fault, as he had asked her point blank what her gender was and this was logically the fastest way to show him. He rubbed her head again and thanked her for the embarrassing moment in a playful manner before saying, "Well, you're a girl huh, okay, so I got to think of a good girl name for you..."

He continued to stare for a moment at the embarrassed Pokemon before sighing and saying,

"Honestly, at the moment, I can't think of anything, but I promise that I will eventually."

He smiled at her and then turned back around towards the wall, reaching up to the windowsill in an attempt to pull himself up to his feet again. He found this to be less difficult than standing, as he used his arms most of his body and he quite frankly didn't weigh very much. After pulling himself up to his feet he reached to close the window, sliding slightly as he grabbed it. The Pokemon he'd let in hopped up onto the windowsill and moved back outside again, turning to look at him. He starred at it blankly and said,

"You don't have to go you know, you can stay here with me."

She shook her head gently and motioned towards the door, obviously meaning something about the people beyond it. He looked back at the door and asked, "You're worried about my parents?"

He looked back at her in time to see her nod in confirmation to his words. He was no longer left in any doubt that this Pokemon could understand him quite well, though he was curious as to what the extent of it would be. Having not spent much time with it, he couldn't tell what frame of mind it had, whether or not it was mature or young. All he knew at the moment was that it could understand what he said. He sighed a little and asked, "Will you come back?"

The Pokemon seemed to hesitate, thinking for a moment and then pointed up at the black night sky. He looked up at it and smiled and said,

"You'll come back at night, when there aren't many people around. Right?"

The Pokemon nodded again and hopped off the windowsill to the ground below, looking back up at him with a faint smile before waving at him. He waved back until it disappeared into the bushes, smiling pleasantly the whole way. He was happy to have made a Pokemon friend, more over, one that his parents didn't know about, and he intended to keep it that way. If they ever learned that he was secretly spending time with a Pokemon, they'd bar his window, take away his privileges to leave the house and would likely have the Pokemon captured and removed from the town entirely. He shuddered to think what would happen to his friend then. After locking the window again, he laboriously turned to face his bed and forced himself to stand on his feet.

His legs shook so violently that he nearly toppled to the floor, only the windowsill kept him from falling. After a few deep breaths, he tried again but it was no good. Every time his legs tried to support his weight, they almost immediately collapsed from under him. He let out a soft curse at the sticky situation he'd got himself in; though his arms were stronger than the rest of his body, even they would eventually tire under the weight of his frail body and cause him to have to sit on the floor for the remainder of the evening until his parents came and moved him, and that would not be a pleasant morning for him if that happened. After another few moments of breathing, he tried once again to stand to his feet, and this time, he did fall. He teetered on his feet for only a moment before he started to fall forward towards the floor. He braced himself for the impact, but it never came.

He felt as though a soft hand had been placed on his chest, preventing him from falling. He looked down and saw a faint impressing on his shirt from the force that held him up. His first immediate thought was of a ghost Pokemon, but as he looked around for a sign of it, he felt a set of eyes on his back and looked at the locked window. There sat the small Pokemon that had just left, a soft glow encircling her eyes as she watched him. She smiled and nodded at him; the sensation on his chest moving to his arm, supporting him as he walked unsteadily to the bed. He knew that she was doing something to keep him from falling over so he could make it back to his bed without hurting himself, and for that, he was grateful.

As he reached the mattress, he hoisted himself onto it and pulled himself back into his usual position, adjusting the blankets so that they covered him. He looked back over to the window and gave a smile of thanks at the Pokemon, who smiled back before turning and hopping back off the windowsill into the night. He didn't know how she had known he needed help, but he was grateful regardless. After settling back into the bed, he closed his eyes and was almost immediately asleep.

_**Chapter 3 is incoming, I am glad you all are enjoying it :)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Here we are, the third chapter. Here we learn a little more about our Hero's caretaker. I hope you enjoy it. Read and Review.**_

Chapter 3

Nicolas lay upon his bed, quietly dozing as the noon day sun streamed into his room from his locked window. The exertion of the night previous had been hard on his body which was so unused to physical activity. It felt as though every muscle in his leg ached but he did his best to hide this from his parents, and as sleeping was not an unusual activity for him, he limited his pain by moving as little as possible. He'd been sleeping for only an hour when a knock sounded at his door causing him to jerk awake. Stifling a groan he bade the person at his door to come in. As the door swung inward he was greeted by the smiling face of his caretaker, her gray hair kept up in a tight bun like it always was.

She stepped into the room and quietly closed the door behind her saying, "Master Nicolas, I trust you slept well."

Nicolas smiled and nodded, saying, "I did indeed Mistress Asano. How is your Pokemon?"

Asano chuckled gently as she pulled Nicolas' wheelchair next to his bed and sat in it. After making herself comfortable she said, "Old Frosty will be just fine, just suffered a bump on the head and a few bruises. You needn't call me Mistress, Nicolas, I take care of you, not the whole house. Anyway, how are you doing? You feeling alright?"

Nicolas nodded, smiling at Asano's laid back manner and said, "I'm alright, a little sore, but nothing major. The doctor said that the assailants foot slid off my ribs, otherwise the force of the direct impact would have shattered them. I'm glad your Pokemon's okay."

Asano smiled a little wryly and said, "Though I am very proud of what you did Nicolas, I have to ask that you not scare us by doing something like that again, if not for your own sake, then for your parents. It'd break their hearts to lose you."

Nicolas frowned and nodded to what she said. His parents extreme over protective nature alone spoke clearly of how much they cared about him. After a brief pause in the conversation Nicolas asked, "That Pokemon I saved...what is it?"

Asano stared thoughtfully at him for a moment before saying, "It was a Ralts, a basic level Psychic type Pokemon."

Nicolas smiled at this knowledge, but only for a moment before he said, "Basic level means its young, how did those people get it?"

Asano frowned and replied, "I would hazard a guess that this Pokemon was kidnapped from its family or perhaps stolen as an egg then hatched. The only other possibilities that I can think of is that its family was murdered by those humans, or perhaps it wandered off and was found by them."

The news that those people could have done something so horrible made his blood boil, heat rushing to his face as anger welled up in him. He forced himself to take several deep breaths as Asano said, "I don't blame you for being angry. People like that have no right having Pokemon companions, let alone their own freedom. It likely won't be long before another unfortunate wild Pokemon falls to them."

Asano's face soured like she'd bitten into a lemon as she sat there, dangerously eying the bed. After a few moments, she too took many deep breaths before looking back up at Nicolas and asking, "Well, since you broached the subject of Pokemon, is there anything else you wanted to know?"

While he was grateful at the subject change, he couldn't help but eye his caretaker warily, suddenly feeling like she knew more than she was letting on. He didn't see how that was possible, as the Ralts had visited him late that night when everyone had to have been asleep. Regardless he asked, "You said that it may have been taken as an egg? I didn't know they laid eggs."

Asano scratched her chin thoughtfully and said, "Honestly, no one really knows how they reproduce, not even the Pokemon Breeders. All that we know for certain is that whatever goes on in the process of making the child is that an egg is the final result."

Nicolas raised an eyebrow at this, thinking back to the Ralts from the previous night, it had clearly showed him that it was female. It made him sure that there must be males out there with compatible organs, but the egg laying still confused him. After another long moment he asked in an attempt to change the subject, "What's a Pokemon battle like? I've never actually seen one."

Asano smiled and sat back in the wheelchair a bit more and said, "Its not something easily described as its a different experience for each individual. I'll try to explain my own experiences to to, though we would be here for quite a while if I gave you my life story, so I'll focus on my first Pokemon battle."

She closed her eyes for a moment, remember to years previously, her smile widening as she remembered these memories. After a moment she began, "I was 11 years old when I had my first Pokemon battle. It was a unique experience to say the least. My first Pokemon at the time was Frosty's dear old dad, an Eevee that my father had given my for my tenth birthday. I trained and played with him for over a year before my parents allowed me to go on my Pokemon journey. Not more than five miles away from home another trainer ambushed me from behind some trees and challenged me to a battle."

She chuckled for a moment and said, "I was brash and didn't want to appear weak so I instantly accepted his challenge, I called out my Eevee and he summoned his Pokemon, a Beedrill. It was at the moment that I realized I had made a foolish mistake, but I wasn't about to back down. I ordered my Eevee to strike at the Beedrill with a quick attack, We hit it, but the Beedrill was barely affected. He had his Pokemon counter with a poison sting, and this basically spelled the end of the battle."

She stopped for a moment to readjust herself and look at Nicolas as she concluded, "After the Poison sting took effect, Eevee almost collapsed right then, he gave one more valiant effort to try and attack the Beedrill but before it could take more than another step, he slumped over and fainted. I was in a panic, afraid to loose him, but my opponent gave me an antidote and a revive before he left, cautioning me to always be aware for traps like the one he'd laid. I learned a valuable lesson that day, not only to be more careful, but also how much my Pokemon meant to me."

She gently squeezed Nicolas' hand and finished by saying, "Hopefully some day you'll get a chance to know that feeling, of having a Pokemon that you care about. The bonds between Pokemon and Human can exceed all understanding and I've been fortunate in my life to experience many wonders associated with such a bond."

She smiled and rose to her feet, reaching over to ruffle his hair gently before she said, "Now, get some rest, you haven't much more you can do besides that. I'll visit you again sometime later."

Nicolas smiled and asked as Asano moved towards the door, "Asano, will you tell me more stories later?"

Asano stopped at the door and nodded to him with a smile before leaving, closing the door behind her with a click. Nicolas sighed and settled back into his covers, closing his eyes and allowing for sleep to drift over him.

Hours later...

Nicolas awoke from his slumber to see the light of the moon shining in through hiss window. He sat up a bit straighter in his bed, rubbing his eyes blearily as he looked out to the window, waiting to see the Ralts that had visited him the day previous. He wasn't sure if there was a specific time that the Pokemon would show up, or even if it knew when it was safe to turn up. Regardless however, he endeavored to keep watch for the creature. As the minutes ticked by, he became aware again of his hunger that growled in his belly, causing him to groan plaintively as he suddenly wished others in the house were awake. Even as he considered calling for someone, he saw a flicker of white out of the corner of his eye. Redirecting his attention to the window he smiled as he saw the Ralts standing on the windowsill, looking in at him with a smile.

He moved to get up and move to the window to open it, pulling the covers off of him as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. After taking a few deep breaths, he slid his feet over the side of the bed and made to stand. As he readied himself, he felt a slight breeze and looked up, the window swinging open of its own accord as the Ralts opened it herself with her psychic powers. Despite this however, Nicolas still slid off his bed onto his aching legs, which made him almost cry out with how much they protested. As he held onto his bed, trying to ready himself, he felt a pair of soft white arms touch his hand, causing him to look up at the Ralts who was giving him a look of concern. He tried to smile at her in a reassuring way, but all it came out as was a grimace of pain. Regardless of the Pokemon's obvious concern for his pain, he was going to do some exercises this evening and he pushed himself off the bed.

He would have fallen backwards had it not been for the same steadying feeling he had experienced the previous evening. He looked at the Ralts, who nodded at him, and he began to cautiously walk around the room, swaying slightly as he lost his balance every so often. He was supporting his own weight, this much he was sure of, all the Ralts was actually doing was helping him maintain his balance and prevent him from falling. He was quite sure that if it had not been for her, he would have collapsed to the floor before even the first step. After his third lap of his room, his legs felt like they were on fire, the pain of which made him feel sick to his stomach. Deciding to call it an evening he returned to his bed and with help, pulled himself back onto it, settling beneath the covers as he usually did, trying to ignore the stinging, itching pain in his legs.

After a few moments, he felt the weight of the Ralts on his stomach as she climbed up onto him, crawling up to his chest were it sat, staring at him. He smiled and reached up to stroke the top of her head, thanking her for her help in his attempts to exercise. He had no idea how long it would be before his body could take the strain of individual movement on its own, but he felt sure that if he kept at it, he would become strong enough to make it. He chuckled slightly at the mentally image of his parents' reaction when he left his room under his own power, walking out into the living room without his chair. He felt fairly certain that they would panic, but it was still an amusing thought. The Ralts sighed happily under his touch, laying her head down on his chest as he pet her. Despite her having a near human appearance, she still had the characteristics of an animal or so he thought, after all, he didn't know any people who enjoyed being pet. Maybe it was just because he was showing her some affection that she had come to expect from people, which wasn't surprising given what had just recently happened to her.

While he stroked her head, starring up into the ceiling, he wondered if there was a possibility that he could convince his parents to let him keep the Ralts, he doubted very highly that he'd be able to, but regardless, he felt that he should try at the very least. The only that that he worried about was his parents going to great lengths to make sure that he never saw her again and this he was sure was going to happen if he revealed to them that he had been spending time with a Pokemon against their wishes. After another few minutes in which he weighed the risks of telling them, he looked back down at the Ralts and smiled, deciding that what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. He wanted to keep this Ralts and he was absolutely certain that his parents would never allow him to keep it. He shifted his arms around the Ralts and gave it a gentle squeeze saying, "My parents may not allow me to have you as a friend, but I'm going to keep you regardless of what they think. Is that alright with you?"

The Ralts seemed to tense for a moment at the question, but she relaxed under his touch and looked at him, her eyes glistening in the light of the moon. She seemed to be thinking, as if trying to decide if his offer to be her friend was genuine or not. After a few moments of silence she smiled and nodded at him, crawling into the crook of his arm and cuddling up against him. He smiled and laid his head back against his pillow, feeling a wave of fatigue wash over him as he relaxed completely.

Dimly, in the back of his mind, he was aware that he couldn't allow himself to sleep just yet. If he fell asleep now, the Ralts may not be gone by the following morning, which meant that his parents were likely to see her in the morning and he'd never get a chance to be with her again. He tried to fight against the crushing wave of sleep rolling over him, but before he could do anything more his mind disengaged and sleep overcame him.

_**There you are, chapter 4 is coming.**_


End file.
